Attachment for knitting-machines.



W. J. STEERE.

ATTACHMENT FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30. 1913.

1.1L, Patented June 22, 1915.

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Patented June 22, 1915.

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W. J. STEERE.

ATTACHMENT FOR KNlTTlNG MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30, 1913.

Patented June 22, 1915.

THE NORRIS PETERS CO, PHOTC-LITHOH WASHINGIUN, D. v

WILLIAM J. STEERE, 0F ROCKWOOD, TENNESSEE.

ATTACHMENT FOR KNITTING-MACHINES.

intents.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 22, 1915.

Application filed July 30, 1913. Serial No. 782,051.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. S'rnnnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rockwood, in the county of Roane and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Attachments for Knitting-Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to machines for knitting circular seamless hose and has for its object the production of a simple and efficient head for such a machine whereby the thread may be so supported as to be easily severed after the hose has been completed.

Another object of the invention is the production of a simple and efiicient automatic cutting means which will cut the thread after the hose has been completed and hold the thread against removal from the cutting head.

l Vith the above and other objects in view this invention consists of certain novel combinations, constructions, and arrangements of parts as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings :-Figure l is a top plan view of the head of the knitting machine showing the same in a position opposite to the tripping cams. Fig. 2 1s a side elevation of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the head shown in contact with the tripping cams. Fig. i is a side elevation of the thread carrying head showing the same in its normal position, the head being shown in an upright position in dotted lines. Fig. 5 is a vertical section through the thread carrying head showing the normal position thereof. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective of .the cutting blade actuating arm and link. Fig. 7 is a detail perspective of the primary cutting blade. Fig. 8 is a section taken on line 8--8, of Fig. 2. Fig. 9 is a section taken on line 9-9, of Fig. 2. Fig. 10 is a transverse section through the cutting blades taken on line 1010 of Fig. 8. Fig. 11 is a vertical section through the bracket and shaft which supports the thread cutting apparatus. Fig. 12 is a detail perspective of the bracket which supports the cutting apparatus. Fig. 18 is a detail perspective of the clamp which is adapted to be operated by one of the cams for actuating the cutting mechanism. Fig. 14 is a front elevation of one of the cams used in connection with the present device for elevating the swinging portion of the thread carrying head. Fig. 15 is a front view of the right hand end of the machine showing the relative position of the tension spring By referring to the drawings it will be seen that 1 designates the support for the head which comprises a cast body portion having a plurality of upwardly extending arms 2 between which arms is pivotally mounted the upper swinging portion 3 there of. This upper swinging portion 3 is journaled upon a'shaft 4 and is capable of being freely swung upon the main or base 1 of the body portion by means of the swinging mechanism hereinafter described. The arms 2 carry near their upper ends an integrally connecting bridge portion 5 within which bridge portion 5 is mounted a screw 6 for regulating the swing of the upper portion 3 of the head. The upper portion 3 of the head is provided with a rearwardly extending lip portion 7 which is adapted to engage the lower end of the screw 6 for limiting the swinging movement of the upper portion 3 of thehead 1. A'locking screw 8 is carried by the bridge 5 for holding the screw 6 in a set position.

The shaft 4 carries a gear 9 which gear is engaged by the rack teeth 10 formed upon the lever 11, the lever 11 extending rearwardly of the body 2 so as to be engaged by the cam 12 to be hereinafter described. The shaft 4 is loosely mounted upon the arms 2 and is keyed or otherwise fixedly secured to the upper portion 3 of the body 1 so as to swing the upper portion 8 of the body 1 as the gear 9 is rotated, by means of the rack teeth 10. The upper portion 3 of the body 1 is provided with a plurality of lugs 13 which are adapted to overhang the bridge 5 and allow the upper portion 3 to rest upon the upper edge of the bridge so as to hold the upper portion 3 in a vertical position.

The upper portion 3 is provided with an adjustable section 14 of the usual construction having an aperture 15 lined with porcelain lining 16 through which the thread 17 is adapted to pass. An adjustable thread guide 18 is carried by the outer end of the adjustable section 1 1 and carries a thread guiding collar 19 of the usual construction through which the thread 17 is adapted to pass as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 5. A cam 20 is fixedly secured to the body portion 1, andthis cam engages the laterally extendmounted arm 22 carries a thread binding finger 23 which thread binding finger 23 is adapted to grip the thread after the same has been out for holding the thread in its correct position in the collar 16' and'prevent the thread from pulling therethrough after the same'hasbeen cut as will be hereinafter described. This cam 20 willthrow the finger 23 out of engagement with the thread when the upper. portion3 is swung to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 5 as is illustrated in Fig. 5. A coil spring 24 is secured to the pin 21 so as to at all times keep the pin 21 in firm engagement with the cam 20whereby the arm 22 may be freely swung and actuated by means of the cam 20.

The upper portion 3 of the body 1 carries a bracket 25 which isprovided with a rearwardly extending finger 26 for engaging the spring 27 which spring 27 is adapted to hold the upper portion 3 in its vertical or horizontalv positions.

A bracket 28 is mounted upon the bodyl and this bracket 2k Mrjports'the cutting apparatus, the bracket 28 being provided with the laterally extending foot 29 for engaging the base of the body 1 and being also provided with a rearwardly extending bracket 30 near its upper end for engaging the body 2 whereby the ,bracket will be firmly held in engagement with the body 2. The bracket 28 comprises a vertically extending sleeve having a centrally arranged aperture 31 into whiclrthe shaft 32 fits. The shaft 32 is provided with an enlarged end 33 for preventing the downward movement of the shaft 32 within the aperture 31 and a pin 34 passes through the lower end of the shaft 32 for limiting the upward movement of the shaft 32 within the aperture 31. The enlarged upper end 33 of the shaft 32 is provided with a transversely extending aperture 35 through which the cutting blade supporting arm 36 passes. This cutting blade supporting arm 36 is held in place by means of a set screw 37 which passes down through the threaded aperture 38, formed in the shaft 32. The extreme upper end of the shaft 32 is I reduced as indicated'at 39 for receiving the cutting blade actuating arm 40 and the swinging arm 41, which swinging arm 41 comprises a clamp portion 42, being clamped upon the reduced portion 39 by means of a set screw 43.

The cutting blade actuating arm is connected to a cutting blade engaging link 44 which link is connected to the swinging cut ting blade 45 carried upon the stationary cutting blade 46. The cutting blade 45 is firmly held in frictional engagement upon 1 i the blade46 by means of a coil spring 47 which is wound upon the adjustingscrew 48. The blade 45 is provided with a rearwardly extendingtongue 49 for traveling upon theboard base of the stationary cutting blade 46 as is clearly illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9. The blade 45 is provided with a downwardly extending pin 50 which pin limits the swinging movement of the blade 45 upon the blade 46. It should be understood that the cutting blade actuating arm 40 is freely mounted upon the reduced portion 37 of the shaft 32 and is adapted to be engaged by the rear vertically extending pin 51 carried by the base plate 52, which base plate is supported upon a bracket 53 carried by the side of the main or first mentioned bracket 28. A pin 54 is carried by the opposite end of the base plate 52 and is adapted to limit the swinging movement of the arms 40 and 36 and at the same time open the cutting blades by forcing the inner end of the arm 40 inwardly so as to open the pivotally mounted blade 45 relative to the stationary blade 46. A coil spring 55 is wound about the enlarged portion 33 of the shaft and has one end engaging the pin 51 and the other end engaging the arm 36. The arm 36 is provided with a flattened portion '56 for facilitating the passage of the connecting bolt 57 over the arm 36 as the arm 40 is swung thereon.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that when the arm 41 is swung the cutting blades 45 and 46 will be drawn together in view of the fact that the pin 51 will engage the notched portion 58 of the arm 40 and limit the swing thereof which will cause the link 44 to remain stationary, and as the arm 36 continues to move outward the pivotal cutting blade 45 will be swung to a closed position over the stationary cutting blade 46 i i It, of course, should be understood that the present device is used in connection with the ordinary hose knitting machine and is automatically actuated by means of an automatic mechanism which consists in a bracket 59 supported upon the support 60, which bracket 59 is provided with a vertically extending sleeve 61. The vertically extending. plunger 62 works in the sleeve 61 and is actuated by means of an elevating arm63 carried by a shaft 6-1. The cam 12 above mentioned which is adapted to swing the upper portion 3 of the base 1 to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4 is held upon the vertically extending shaft or plun gerrinan adjustable position by means of a set screw 65. adapted to engage the arm 41 for swinging the cutting mechanism is also held upon the shaft 62 by means of the set screw 65.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that when it is desired to cut the thread the shaft 62 is elevated so as to allow the cams 12 and 66 to engage the lever 11 and arm A second cam 66 which is 1,143,658 it t e, 41 for bringing the upper portion 3 of the body 1 to a vertical position, and at the same time cutting or severing the thread 17 by means of the cutting mechanism above described. It should be understood that the upper portion 3 of the base 1 is first elevated and then the cam 66 will engage the arm 41 and swing the the path of the threads and sever the same, the finger 23 at the same time gripping the thread across the aperture 15 and preventing the thread from slipping through the thread guide carried by the head.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that a very simple and eflioient means has been produced for drawing the head away from the material which is being woven or knitted, and allowing sufiicient room for severing the thread Without fear of injuring the thread itself; and it will further be understood that the thread severing means will be actuated automatically, and it will not be necessary to out the thread by hand.

Of course, it should be understood that the invention above described may be modilied as to its detail mechanical construction without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new, is

1. In a knitting machine the combination with a head provided with a vertically movable swinging upper end, thread guiding means carried thereby, said thread guiding means comprising a hollow tube portion, and a thread clamping finger adapted to pass over the rear end of said hollow tube portion for firmly clamping a thread within said'hollow tube portion and preventing the longitudinal movement of said thread through said hollow tube portion when said swinging upper end is swung to a vertical position.

2. In a knitting machine the combination cutting blades across with a head provided with an upwardly swinging upper end, of a thread guiding means comprising a hollow tube portion, a body portion, a cam fixedly secured to said body portion, pivotally mounted arms supported upon said body portion and provided with a laterally extending pin at the rear end thereof, a thread binding finger carried by said pivotally mounted arm and adapted to lie snugly in engagement with the rear end of said hollow tube and adapted to be thrown into firm engagement with the rear end of said hollow tube for clamping a thread therein and preventing the longitudinal movement of a thread through said hollow tube when said swinging upper end has been swung to a vertical position.

3. In a knitting machine the combination with a head, said head provided with a pivoted upper end adapted to normally extend at right angles to said body for facilitating the guiding of a thread to the knitting portion of said knitting machine, means for raising said swinging upper end to a vertical position, of thread guiding means carried by said pivoted upper end, a pivot arm carried by said swinging portion of said head, a cam engaging said arm for swinging the same upon said head, said thread guiding means provided with a rear wardly extending hollow tube and adapted to receive a thread, a laterally extending finger carried by said arm and adapted to be thrown into engagement with the rear end of said hollow tube for clamping a thread therein and preventing the accidental sliding movement of the thread through said hollow tube.

In testimony whereof I hereunto ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM J. STEERE.

Witnesses:

T. A. I/VRIGHT, FRANK B. MOELWEE.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

